Barn Theatres and the American Summer Stock Tradition

Ask people who grew up near a summer theatre what they remember, and they often describe the building before the show: a converted barn, a timber roof, fans turning overhead and a field full of parked cars. Barn theatres are a distinctly American tradition, closely tied to what became known as summer stock. Apple Hill Playhouse in Delmont, Pennsylvania, was part of that tradition for more than sixty years. This article explains where barn theatres came from, how summer stock worked and why these rural stages still matter.

What "summer stock" means

In theatre, a stock company is a group of actors who perform a series of plays in repertory, one after another, rather than a single long-running production. Summer stock applied the idea to the warm months. Companies set up in resort towns and rural areas and presented a new play every week or two throughout the summer, often to holidaymakers escaping the heat of the cities.

Summer stock grew quickly in the 1920s and 1930s. Because many theatres operated in resort and country areas, and audiences dressed for summer, the network of venues came to be called the "straw hat circuit". A 2001 newspaper review of Apple Hill's production of Neil Simon's Fools, preserved in our press archive, used exactly that phrase, calling the barn a straw hat theater on a sticky August night.

Why barns, mills and meeting houses?

Early summer theatres needed large, cheap, covered spaces in the countryside. Barns fitted perfectly. They had high roofs, open floors and timber structures that could be adapted for a stage and rows of seats. Other buildings were converted too. Some of the best-known American summer theatres began in unusual places:

• The Cape Playhouse in Dennis, Massachusetts, opened in 1927 in a converted meeting house.
• The Barter Theatre in Abingdon, Virginia, opened in 1933 during the Depression and famously let audiences pay for tickets with produce.
• Bucks County Playhouse in New Hope, Pennsylvania, opened in 1939 in a former grist mill.
• Mountain Playhouse in Jennerstown, Pennsylvania, also opened in 1939 in a converted grist mill, not far from Delmont.

The link between Mountain Playhouse and Apple Hill is direct. In 1964 three theatre practitioners associated with Mountain Playhouse bought the Delmont barn and renamed it Apple Hill Playhouse. You can read the full story in our history of Apple Hill Playhouse.

How a summer stock season worked

Classic summer stock ran at a demanding pace. While one play was in performance, the next was already in rehearsal and a third might be in the planning stage. Sets were built quickly and reused where possible. Stars from film and Broadway sometimes toured the circuit, appearing with a local company for a week at a time, which helped fill seats.

Apple Hill's own history echoes this. Its first production after being renamed in 1964 was a one-woman show starring the comedian Totie Fields. Later, under producer Pat Beyer, the theatre settled into a pattern of six or more mainstage productions a year from late spring into autumn, plus a children's season in the mornings. The season calendars in our season archive show how tightly the productions followed one another.

From summer stock to community theatre

Over time many summer theatres changed character. Some became fully professional regional theatres. Others closed as audiences' holiday habits changed and air conditioning made city venues more comfortable in summer. Many became community theatres, where local volunteers and semi-professional artists stage the plays, often with paid directors, designers and technicians.

Apple Hill followed this last route. By the time its online records begin, around 2000, it was the home of Orchard Performing Arts Company, a non-profit company whose casts were largely drawn from the region. It kept the summer stock rhythm of a new show every few weeks but combined it with education programmes, children's theatre and community events such as galas and karaoke nights.

What makes a barn theatre special

Intimacy

Most barn theatres are small. Audiences sit close to the stage, often only a few rows back, and can see every expression. Reviews of Apple Hill productions often mention how the barn's scale suited comedy and small-cast plays.

Character

Exposed beams, uneven floors and rural surroundings give a barn theatre a sense of occasion that a modern auditorium can struggle to match. For many patrons the building was part of the evening, especially when combined with dinner before the show.

Challenges

The same features create problems. Old barns can be hot, hard to heat, difficult to make accessible and expensive to maintain. Apple Hill added air conditioning, ramped access and a covered patio over the years. Yet when the coronavirus pandemic arrived, its producer told the Tribune-Review that bringing a Civil War-era barn up to new health requirements was not realistic, one of the reasons the theatre closed in 2020.

Visiting a barn theatre today

Barn theatres and converted summer playhouses still operate across the United States, some professional and many run by community groups. If you visit one:

• Dress for the building. Layers help, because older venues can be warm on summer evenings and cool in autumn.
• Arrive early. Rural parking may be on grass or gravel, and many barn theatres have grounds worth exploring.
• Ask about accessibility. Old buildings vary a great deal, so it is worth checking steps, seating and restrooms in advance.
• Make an evening of it. Many summer theatres partner with local restaurants, as Apple Hill did with The Lamplighter. Our dinner theatre guide explains how those packages work.

Life backstage in a barn theatre

Audiences see the charm of a barn theatre, but the people working there see its quirks. Wing space is often tight, so scenery has to be designed to fold, slide or fly out of the way. Dressing rooms may be shared, and quick changes can happen in a corner behind a curtain. Storage is a constant puzzle when a new show opens every few weeks, which is why many summer theatres reuse platforms, doors and furniture from one production to the next. Weather matters too: summer heat, heavy rain on a timber roof and the sound of cicadas on a quiet night can all become part of a performance. For the crews who learn their craft in these conditions, the experience teaches resourcefulness that serves them well in any venue.

Why the tradition matters

Barn theatres brought live performance to places far from big-city stages. They trained generations of actors and technicians, gave local audiences affordable entertainment and turned working buildings into community gathering places. Although the Apple Hill barn no longer hosts performances, its seasons, photographs and reviews remain. Browse the 2001 photo gallery or the 2019 season to see what a year in a barn theatre looked like.